NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESS OWNERS: CONGRESS MUST RENEW THE TRUMP TAX CUTS

Across New Hampshire, small businesses are working to serve their customers, create jobs, and build stronger futures for their families.

Entrepreneurs like Desmond Holman, owner of Dawkun Thai restaurant, and Brian Labrie and Brittany Ping, who each own two businesses, prosper by helping their hometowns thrive.

And they say the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made entrepreneurship just a little easier.

TCJA SOFTENED BLOW OF BIDEN-ERA INFLATION

Brittany owns a property management firm, Ledgeview Commercial Partners, and a brokerage called Porcupine Real Estate.

She says the TCJA leveled the playing field between larger corporations and small firms like her own.

The money that Ledgeview and Porcupine saved in taxes has been helpful during historic inflation.

“We have been thriving in a terrible economy because small businesses are able to do what we do, which is help people every single day in the community,” Brittany said.

TRUMP TAX CUTS KEPT AMERICAN DREAM ALIVE

Like Brittany, Brian owns two businesses: B.H. Labrie, a full-service landscaping and irrigation company, and Drop One Portables, a portable sanitation company.

Brian grew up in Nashua and started his first business when he was in his early 20s.

“I knew how to build stuff,” Brian said. “I knew landscape construction, so I started my own business and haven’t looked back. … There’s nothing more that I’d rather do than wake up every day and be my own boss.”

Brian’s landscaping business has 22 trucks, employs about two dozen people, and serves nearly 1,100 customers.

THE TAX CUTS AND JOBS ACT HELPED KEEP HIS AMERICAN DREAM ALIVE

“What I can tell you is this: The Trump tax cuts that could potentially expire at the end of this year have helped me dramatically with my business,” Brian said. “They’ve allowed us to plan for the future, they’ve allowed us to reinvest in not only employees but equipment, and, most of all, they’ve allowed us to save money to plan for years that aren’t so great.”

He adds that these savings make it possible to offer competitive compensation and retain talented workers — a win for employees and the New Hampshire economy.

“As business owners, when we can invest in our employees through offering respectable salaries and competitive benefit packages while securing work for future years, it allows us to retain that labor and ensures a far higher quality of life for the employee, and that’s what New Hampshire is all about! Simply put, Trump’s tax cuts allow this to happen.”

TAX CUTS AND JOBS ACT EXPIRATION INTRODUCES ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY

Owning a business means planning ahead.

The fact that key provisions of the Trump tax cuts expire at the end of 2025 has made it impossible for entrepreneurs to plan for 2026.

Biden-era inflation has squeezed New Hampshire families and small businesses for the last several years. Now, New Hampshire entrepreneurs are planning to pay more to the IRS — on average $3,472 per family and $1,544 per small business — which will make it harder for Main Street businesses to thrive.

Restaurateur Desmond worries higher taxes will harm the local and state economy.

“How the economy runs has a real strong effect on how well we’re doing,” he said. If families’ tax burdens rise, they may dine out less.

“If the tax cuts are not renewed, we’re going to continue to struggle,” Desmond concluded.

TRUMP TAX CUT EXPIRATION A “SCARY” PROSPECT

Desmond walked away from being a welder for 25 years to open Dawkun Thai with his wife. The two have devoted their lives to their restaurant, its employees, and their customers, and have invested what they earned back into the business.

Brittany has the same worries as Desmond. She explained that many of her clients also own small businesses. If her clients’ taxes go up, “we’re going to see less and less business come our way.”

If fewer entrepreneurs and families spend money in the community, Brittany agrees that her companies will have to “shrink in size” and cut jobs.

“It’s kind of scary to think about what could happen,” Brittany concluded.

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